Ok, so I have wanted an African Grey for years now, and due to moving a friend of my girlfriend Ali had an african grey for sale, she wanted 900.00 for the bird, a male 8 years old and his cage. Well I got him for 500.00, cage toys, food the whole deal. I should say here I have experience with cockatiels....never have had a big parrot.

His name is Bobby and when they brought him to my house last night he stepped right up on my arm as soon as Mike had him out of the carrier, sat there very calmly, let me hold him, scratch his head and neck etc...very enjoyable.

Bobby is in recovery since when Jen and Mike got him he had been in a room for SIX MONTHS with no light and his owner at that time was NOT spending time with him or his other 3 parrots, anyways Bobby had pulled ALL his feathers by the time Jen and Mike got him to their house about 9 months ago.

Since then he has gotten his wing and tail feathers and now his chest feathers are coming in nicely, the vet says he is doing well and he is a very friendly bird. I just want to make sure I make his moving here as easy on him as possible without too much stress.

He has a pretty good vocabulary and was actually doing sound effects last night as I held him. I have been reading like crazy to get ideas, and I have placed his HUGE cage in my livingroom by the window for starters.

Anyone have ideas on how to encourage his feather growth and to make the transition to being here easier???

__________________
We gotta start at the TOP, wipe the slate clean and take OUR country BACK!
LuvMyHubby
Proud mom of an Army Man
Wife of a trucker

Agrican Greys are very smart as you probably already know. In fact, most of the Parrot species are Intelligent.

Greys prefer human attention more then they do toys. The only thing toys do for them is give them a sense of security.

THEY love to be out of the cage and playing on the top of the cage. If his CAGE does not have a playtop, I would invest in a play area for him.

You can find numerous play stands on the internet for parrots.

THEY also need good food. He should be provided with Veggies, fruits, pellets and some seed.

Putting his cage near you when you watch TV so that he can see you and hear the sounds in the home is good for him.

Having a stereo on for music is another way for him to find entertainment.

This bird will need alot of interaction to stop with the feather plucking on his chest, if that is what he is doing.

Some parrots get into the habit of plucking and are never able to stop it no matter what one does to help the situation.
Feather plucking is done for many different reasons.

So, GOOD food, some TOYS (for security reasons), contact with humans, and a play stand are all necessary for this parrot to live a happy life.

Any other questions, I will be happy to help.

Thanks Cybergal, I knew you would have some answers/suggestions. I let bobby out yesterday morning and he went to the top of his cage for quite awhile...he did eat out of my hand several times and made a few more noises and said a couple of words.

Now the top of his cage....should I put toys up there for him too?....there was a metal tray up there and I took it off so that he could see (while in the cage) and so that he could walk around up there better...should I put it back?

What about cuttle bones are they ok for a parrot of this size?

Sorry for all the questions, I just wanna do what is right for this guy.

__________________
We gotta start at the TOP, wipe the slate clean and take OUR country BACK!
LuvMyHubby
Proud mom of an Army Man
Wife of a trucker

I wouldn't give him a cuttlebone. With his size of beak he will just break large chunks off and could swallow it to easy.

GREYS do need to leave the cage and will get to where they demand it.

That is one reason for the play top on top of a cage. There you can have a perch for them and a couple of cups for them to drink and eat out of.

He should be allowed to stay out for as long as you are home to watch him.

He could be trained to go in and out of his cage as well.

Not sure what his cage looks like, and knowing how expensive cages are.. sigh

YOU might want to consider a cage with a play top at some time down the road.

Back to the cuttlebone..

He won't really need a cuttlebone if he has good food for vitamins and something to chew on every now and then.

There are toys out there that you can purchase just for him. I would be careful with strings, and certain woods on toys and bells. GREYS are known for getting the little clapper out of a bell and swallowing it.

Toys that are durable and strung on a chain are better for him.

Keeping him entertained is going to be your biggest problem. GREYS hate to be bored and need plenty of "Something to do"

Just being me I guess, I took bobie to the vet because I just felt something wasn't right with him....they checked his crop and did the usual fecal test along with physical exam.

He has a vit. A deficencey (sp), a slight case of yeast infection which vet says might play into his feather plucking, and no papilli (sp) on the inside of his upper beak., caused by poor diet.
So now I am giving him fish oil per the vet to get the vit. A back where it needs to be, adding TONS of fresh veggies to the food dish everyday, the vet gave me a recipie for adding apple cider vinegar to his water daily for 10 days to get the acidity of his system up to get rid of the yeast...vet told me he has treated his greys this way....and this vet is an avian specialist.

My whole point here is....ONE if you are not VERY well educated on the type of animal you are going to bring into your home DONT DO IT!

DONT take your pet to just any vet, make SURE they are well learned in the area you pet fits into, avian, reptile etc.

If the people who had bobie (that I got him from) would have taken him to a skilled vet, not the local dog doctor they probably could have avoided his current health issues with education and advice from the vet.

Bobie is a GREAT bird! WONDERFUL personality, LOVES people and after just a week he has won my heart, I love the little guy something awful.....and yes I will continue to take good care of him and follow up with the vet as suggested.

__________________
We gotta start at the TOP, wipe the slate clean and take OUR country BACK!
LuvMyHubby
Proud mom of an Army Man
Wife of a trucker